These five children were all Innate Divine Spirits, born directly from heaven and earth. If they grew up, their futures would be limitless.
Chen Xiao let out a slow breath and asked, "Can you go nowhere but here?"
"No. Our bodies haven't finished growing, so we need a lot of spiritual energy to replenish them. If there's somewhere rich in spiritual energy, we can go there."
Xianxian was nestled in Chen Xiao's arms, clinging to him. After leaving that half of the ancient bridge, her vitality had gradually begun to recover.
"Somewhere rich in spiritual energy..."
Chen Xiao thought for a moment, then said, "Stay hidden for now and don't come out. Your big brother will come back for you later."
Looking at these five spirit children born of heaven and earth, Chen Xiao couldn't help thinking of his little sister, Chen Yao. If she were still alive, she would be about their age now.
Chen Xiao sighed. Although he had been reborn, he had returned to the age of sixteen. If he had gone back further, perhaps he could have changed his little sister's fate. That was his one regret.
But heaven had already granted him another chance. Even if some regrets couldn't be undone, Chen Xiao would treasure the people before him all the more.
Chen Yao was four years younger than Chen Xiao and had the Innate Severed Meridian Body. This was a special constitution: spiritual energy naturally blocked its meridians, making cultivation impossible. But once those meridians were opened, its potential would be only a notch below Chen Xiao's Immortal Spirit Root.
So the family had risked using vast resources to open her meridians when she was three. Of course, they failed. The violent spiritual energy tore apart Chen Yao's meridians and damaged her internal organs, and she died.
That was why Chen Xiao had resisted cultivation from childhood. No matter how good his aptitude was, he had lost all interest in cultivating. Having lost his beloved little sister, he rejected cultivation, his personality changed, and he eventually became a spoiled young master roaming the streets of Moon-Gazing City.
Everyone in the Chen Clan knew the reason. Chen Tiannan had already lost one of his children, and he didn't want his son to suffer the same fate, so he let Chen Xiao do as he pleased.
Otherwise, with Chen Xiao's aptitude, even if he had been utterly hopeless, Chen Tiannan would have locked him up and forced him to cultivate. How could he have let him become a spoiled young master?
Now, seeing these five spirit children, Chen Xiao thought of the little sister he had lost. An indescribable feeling welled up in his heart.
Reborn once, Chen Xiao understood the importance of cherishing what he had even better than before. He knew that once some things were lost, they could never be recovered. He didn't think himself lucky enough to keep being reborn.
"Hide here for now. I'll come back for you later." Chen Xiao set Xianxian on the ground and spoke.
By now, he understood that Xianxian hadn't actually been restrained. It was that stone bridge that was strange; it could suppress their spiritual power and leave them unable to move.
Nangong Shenyao was outside, discussing something with Nangong Wenyue. They wouldn't be coming back for a while. Besides, Nangong Wenyue had clearly been badly weakened after trying to refine Xianxian, so Chen Xiao wasn't worried that they would discover any clues.
Xianxian and the other four little ones nodded. In a flash, they sank into the river of spiritual energy above them.
Chen Xiao withdrew from the space without a sound.
"Wenyue, what do you plan to do now? The Chen Clan has produced an Immortal Spirit Root. That's not good news."
At that moment, Nangong Shenyao was still discussing the matter with Nangong Wenyue. Officially, Nangong Shenyao was the mine's overseer, but in truth he was the linchpin connecting the Nangong Family with the depths of Mingyu Mountain.
"It's certainly troublesome." Nangong Wenyue furrowed his brow. "My father has his own plans. It's not my place to worry about it. Thirteen years ago, we destroyed one of the Chen Clan's Innate Severed Meridians. Today, we can destroy an Immortal Spirit Root just as easily."
Nangong Wenyue sneered. "So what if they have the Glazed Heaven Palace's protection? Moon-Gazing City will be in the Nangong Family's grasp sooner or later."
Nangong Shenyao fell silent. Though his cultivation had reached the Division Spirit Realm and he was an elder of the family, his actual standing was no match for Nangong Wenyue's. Nangong Wenyue had already been chosen as the next head of the Nangong Family, and no one could shake his position.
Chen Xiao quietly withdrew from the area, forcefully suppressing the rage in his heart. From Nangong Wenyue's words, he now understood that his little sister hadn't died in an accident while her meridians were being opened. She had been killed by the Nangong Family.
He could imagine that if he hadn't spent all these years resisting cultivation and wasting his days on the streets, he too would have fallen victim to the Nangong Family's scheme.
"Nangong Family, heh. This time, we'll settle the old and new grudges all at once."
Chen Xiao gritted his teeth and retreated into the mountain's outer chamber.
"How's the setup coming along?"
Chen Xiao went to Cai Di and asked.
"It's nearly ready. Once the formation is activated, I'm eighty percent confident I can turn everyone here into Poison Chiefs."
Poison Immortal Cai Di was brimming with confidence. Then he said, a little worried, "There seem to be several Integrated Body Late Stage cultivators stationed here. If they notice anything amiss, they could easily break my poison formation."
"Integrated Body Late Stage cultivators... They must be elders the Nangong Family has hidden away. Can't you turn them into Poison Chiefs too?"
Chen Xiao frowned. He was itching to have Cai Di activate the poison formation at once and destroy the Nangong Family's foundation.
"Unless my cultivation reaches the late stage of Tribulation Transcendence, Infant Shadow Poison can't affect Body Integration Realm cultivators." Cai Di shook his head. "Infant Shadow Poison is domineering, but it's completely useless against anyone at the same level as me or higher. The target has to be at least one realm below the poisoner."
Though Chen Xiao had inherited some of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect's teachings, he hadn't studied them. The Talisman Dao Precious Record and the Nine Heavens Thunder Virtue Universal Transformation Art both surpassed the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect's Ten Thousand Poisons Return to Sect.
"Mm, I understand."
Chen Xiao nodded. Then he flipped his hand, and a jade talisman appeared in his palm.
The materials for drawing talismans were divided into ranks. The lowest-grade materials were yellow paper and cinnabar; the next tier included beast hide and demon beast blood. The finest material for talismans was high-quality raw jade.
Most of the talismans Chen Xiao drew now were low-grade, made from yellow paper and cinnabar. The slightly better ones were drawn on demon beast hide.
There was some fine raw jade in the Golden Immortal Kingdom, but Chen Xiao's cultivation was still limited. He couldn't inscribe certain advanced talismans, and using raw jade to make low-grade talismans would be wasteful.
This talisman jade was one of the Heaven-Concealing Talismans left behind by the Talisman Treasure Golden Immortal—the highest-grade talisman Chen Xiao could use right now.
Chen Xiao slowly merged the Heaven-Concealing Talisman into his body. In an instant, an almost imperceptible gleam flashed across his skin. Then, before Mengmeng and Cai Di's astonished eyes, he vanished.
This jade talisman was the true Heaven-Concealing Talisman. Once it was activated, no one could detect Chen Xiao's presence unless they were a true immortal.
After merging with the Heaven-Concealing Jade Talisman, Chen Xiao sat cross-legged on the ground and slowly began circulating the Nine Heavens Thunder Virtue Universal Transformation Art.